He sought asylum in the Ecuadoran embassy in London since 2012.

Julian Assange has defiantly spoken of his “important victory” after Sweden dropped a rape investigation into the WikiLeaks founder from which he has been hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy for five years.

Sweden’s Director of Public Prosecution Marianne Ny has decided to discontinue the investigation into the 45-year-old, who has lived in the Ecuadoran embassy in London since 2012, trying to avoid extradition.

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Julian Assange appears outside the embassy after Sweden dropped its case against him

Ny reportedly filed a request to the Stockholm District Court to revoke his arrest warrant, seemingly ending a seven-year legal stand-off.

UK refuses to confirm or deny whether it has already received a US extradition warrant for Julian Assange. Focus now moves to UK.

But Scotland Yard said it was still obliged to execute a warrant issued by Westminster Magistrates’ Court for the arrest of Assange following his failure to surrender to the court in June 2012, should he leave the building.

Assange has long fought extradition to Sweden, saying he feared it would ultimately mean extradition to the US for prosecution over what Wikileaks has published.

Sweden’s decision to discontinue its case ends that threat.

But appearing on the balcony of the embassy on Friday evening, Assange said a “legal conflict” with the United States and the UK continued and the “road is far from over”.

He “extremely regretful” that he was still being threatened with arrest and ignored shouts from the crowd demanding to know whether he would now surrender to police.

Assange’s lawyer, Juan Branco, reportedly said his client will now try to claim asylum in France, The Telegraph reports.

WikiLeaks tweeted on Friday morning that the “focus now moves to UK” as Assange awaits confirmation whether or not a US extradition warrant for Assange has been receive.

The whistleblower fears being extradited to the US if he is sent to Sweden.

Assange could face trial in the US following the mass leak of hundreds of thousands of secret US military and diplomatic documents.

Following Friday’s announcement, Assange tweeted an old picture of himself looking happy.

At a press conference on Friday, Ny said that by remaining in the Ecuadorian embassy, Assange had evaded the reach of the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) that would have seen him extradited to Sweden.

“It is my assessment that the transfer cannot be made in a reasonable timeframe,” she said.

Ny said that without the possibility of Assange appearing in person in court there was no point continuing.

But the Swedish prosecutor did not rule out the investigation into Assange being reopened in the future.

She said: “In consideration of the fact that all possibilities to advance the investigation have now been exhausted it appears.. to be no longer proportional to maintain the decision remanding Assange to custody in absentia and to maintain the European arrest warrant.

“In consideration of this and of the fact that legal proceedings would require Julian Assange’s personal presence in a Swedish court, there is therefore no longer any reason to continue the preliminary investigation.

“The preliminary investigation is therefore closed.

“If Julian Assange were to return to Sweden before the statute of limitations for the crime elapses in August 2020 the preliminary investigation could, however, be reopened.”

Ecuador will intensify its diplomatic efforts with the UK so that Assange can gain safe passage to enjoy his asylum in the South American country, a foreign ministry source reportedly told the Press Association.